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The Year in Pictures

From Michael Phelps’ victory lap to Sarah Palin’s star turn to Mumbai’s night of terror, the definitive photo finish for 2008.

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Andrew McConnell/WpN

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Displaced children outside their makeshift homes in Mugunga, Congo.

Andrew McConnell/WpN

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A young Olympic hopeful prepares to dive during a practice session at a training school in Shanghai.

Nir Elias/Reuters

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Barack Obama in shoes worn down from campaigning, being interviewed after a rally at Rhode Island College in Providence.

Callie Shell/Aurora Photos

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Hillary Clinton during a campaign stop in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

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Zimbabweans flee across the Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, South Africa.

Themba Hadebe/AP Photo

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Carly Smith, 6, of Charleston, West Virginia, makes a confetti angel at a rally for Hillary Clinton.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Rescuers carry a wounded person out of the debris of collapsed buildings after the earthquake in Beichuan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

Wang Jiaowen, ColorChinaPhoto/AP Photo

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Communist Party boss Jiang Guohua kneels before parents whose children were killed in an earthquake in China's Sichuan province.

Shiho Fukada/The New York Times/Redux

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President Bush celebrates with Theodore Shiveley from Plano, Texas at the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

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Three little flood victims in Oakville, Iowa.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt celebrates her release after being held hostage for six years by the FARC.

Jacques Brinon, Pool/Reuters

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The daughters of FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs, outside their home in New Braunfels, Texas.

Stephanie Sinclair/VII Network

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A Georgian man holds the body of a relative after a bombing in Gori.

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

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Soldiers stand guard outside the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

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United States' Michael Phelps and his teammate Garret Weber-Gale, right, celebrate as their team wins the gold in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 11, 2008.

David J. Phillip/AP Photo

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Barack Obama arrives at a campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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John McCain acknowledges the crowd at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

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An Obama campaign rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Jason Reed/Reuters

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Madonna performs in East Rutherford, New Jersey during the "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld after testifying before Congress on the collapse of his company.

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

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Sarah Palin at a campaign rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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U.S. President elect Barack Obama embraces his wife Michelle after he gave his victory speech during an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

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The fire department arrives at the Taj Mahal hotel following a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

Lorenzo Tugnoli, AFP/Getty Images

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An Iraqi man throws a shoe at President Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.

AP Photo

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Palestinians carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008.

Hatem Omar/AP Photo

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A soldier puts camouflage colors on his face as Israeli army special forces are deployed on December 28, 2008 at the Gaza Israel border.

Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

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